Chapter 3 - The Prisoner Who Knew the Truth
Luca locked himself inside his father's old study.
He played the recording again.
Every breath. Every pause. Every familiar inflection.
It was Antonio.
Not a voice actor. Not a convincing imitation.
His father.
Gabriel stood beside the desk while Elena sat near the window.
“Tell me everything,” Luca demanded.
Gabriel took a long breath.
“Six years ago, Antonio discovered that Richard had been moving money through shell companies and selling the family's shipping routes to a rival organization. Your father planned to confront him privately.”
“And Vanessa's father?”
“Edward Hart arranged the meeting.”
Luca looked toward the window.
“Why would Edward help Richard?”
“Because Edward wanted control of the Moretti businesses. Richard promised him half the organization after Antonio was gone.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I begged Antonio not to go.”
Luca turned.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
“To protect whom?”
She hesitated.
“Your brother.”
Luca went still.
The photograph returned to his mind.
The younger man standing beside Antonio had his scar.
“Who was he?”
Elena looked at him.
“His name was Adrian.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“You're telling me I have a brother?”
“A twin.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Elena explained that Adrian had been born eleven minutes before Luca. When the boys were infants, an enemy attack had forced Antonio to send one child away with a trusted family friend.
Adrian had grown up outside Chicago, under another name.
Antonio had reunited with him shortly before the explosion.
“He was supposed to come home that night,” Elena whispered.
Luca remembered the photograph.
“Was he the man who survived?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why isn't he here?”
“Because he believes you killed your father.”
Luca slammed his palm against the desk.
“That's impossible!”
Gabriel didn't argue.
“Someone gave him evidence. A recording of a man with your voice ordering the attack.”
Luca stared at him.
“My voice?”
“The recording was made during a family meeting. It was edited to sound like you authorized the explosion.”
“Who had access to that meeting?”
“Richard. Vanessa. Your father.”
Luca turned toward the door.
“Where is Vanessa?”
“Under guard,” Gabriel answered.
“Bring her.”
Minutes later, Vanessa entered the study.
Her makeup was ruined, and her hands trembled.
Luca placed the photograph in front of her.
“Tell me who Adrian is.”
She stared at it.
“I don't know.”
“Don't insult me.”
“I swear!”
He placed the watch beside the photograph.
“Then tell me why you hired Daniel.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Your father contacted me three weeks ago.”
Luca's expression changed.
“What?”
“He said he was alive. He told me he had been watching the family from a distance. He wanted me to help recover the watch.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he said you weren't ready.”
Luca almost laughed.
“My father decides whether I'm ready to know he's alive?”
“He said Richard was monitoring your phone and your house. He believed someone would kill you if you learned the truth.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“At an old hotel near the river.”
“Name.”
“The Blackstone.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“That hotel was demolished two years ago.”
Vanessa looked confused.
“He told me to meet him there.”
Luca leaned closer.
“Who told you?”
She finally looked at him.
“Adrian.”
Silence.
Vanessa began crying harder.
“He said he was your brother. He said he wanted to save you from Richard. I believed him.”
“Did he give you the watch?”
“No. He gave me the key to the compartment. He said the watchmaker would know what to do.”
Gabriel suddenly reached for the watch.
“Show me the inside.”
Luca handed it over.
Gabriel examined the crown, then twisted it twice.
A small metallic click sounded.
A narrow strip of film slid from the inner casing.
Luca frowned.
“What is that?”
“Microfilm,” Gabriel answered. “Your father used it to hide the original transaction records.”
He held it against the desk lamp.
Tiny lines of writing appeared.
There were account numbers, dates, and names.
One name appeared repeatedly.
ELENA MORETTI.
Luca slowly turned toward his mother.
Her face had gone white.
“Mother?”
She didn't answer.
Gabriel looked at the final line.
“There's something else.”
He read it aloud.
“Operation Second Son. Final authorization: Elena Moretti.”
Luca stared at the paper.
His mother began shaking her head.
“No. That's not what it means.”
“Then tell me what it means!”
She covered her face.
“I signed those papers because your father was going to die.”
“Whose death did you authorize?”
Before she could answer, gunshots exploded downstairs.
The study lights went out.
Gabriel pulled Luca behind the desk.
Vanessa screamed.
Someone shouted from the hallway.
“Find the watch! Leave nobody alive!”
Luca drew his weapon and fired toward the doorway.
A body fell.
When the emergency lights came on, Vanessa was gone.
So was the photograph.
Luca rushed to the window.
A black SUV sped away from the mansion.
On the passenger side, a man turned his head.
He had Luca's face.
May you like
Adrian.
And he was smiling.
